Design Like Apple: Seven Principles For Creating Insanely Great Products, Services, and Experiences

Introduction

Apple, design, and Steve Jobs.

It's safe to say that you have probably had a firsthand experience with an Apple product or service—and that you have had a deeper experience over the past three decades with a succession of products created by one of the world's most valuable companies. It's also safe to say that you have visited an Apple Store—many times perhaps, to buy or browse or just to gawk in wonder—or have logged onto the Apple website.

If you're like many people, you talk about the product, whether a Mac, an iPod, an iPhone, or an iPad, and the experience with Apple itself as if they were an important relationship. There is a reason for that.

The iPhone 4S brought voice recognition and smarts to life through Siri—another Apple innovation that makes technology feel more human. Image: Apple Inc.

Whether you're a trained creative professional or someone without even a passing interest in the world of design, you will have noticed that everything Apple does has an approachable simplicity and purity that sets it apart from most other technology companies in the world. There is a discipline and consistency in everything Apple creates and a relentless drive toward innovation. How iPads or iPhones function and interact with the user, and how easily they operate, is just as noteworthy as the refined look, the attention to details, and the touchability of their surfaces. ...